The Bearded Bandit
by ManateeMama
Summary: Solving crimes usually is painstakingly slow, in part because things are seldom as they seem. Fortunately, both Fritz and Brenda are extremely good at putting the pieces together.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This takes place during Season Three. Fritz and Brenda have been living together for over a year but they are not yet engaged.**

**Chapter 1:**

"Fritz, please find Jerry and come to my office right away."

The urgency in Dave Martin's voice instantly had him on the alert so he hung up the phone and immediately went looking for his partner. Jerry wasn't in his office or the break room so he opened the Men's Room door and called out. "Jerry, are you in here?" No answer. His next step was to check Tom Benedict's office since he and Jerry had a friendly rivalry going about NHL games and they enjoyed pushing each other's buttons. Sure enough, Jerry was listening to Tom waxing eloquent about how the Toronto Maple Leafs were about to annihilate the Anaheim Ducks. And Jerry's expression bore the tell of a man who had just had to empty his wallet.

Tom looked up and saw Fritz stopping at his door and said, "Fritz knows that the Maple Leafs can pluck the Ducks' feathers, don't you, Fritz?"

"I've won money betting on both teams, Tom, so I'm not going to pick sides here," Fritz smiled. Then he turned to Jerry. "Dave wants to see us in his office right away."

They knocked on their boss' door and were waived in. When they were seated, Dave presented a new case, "I don't know if you're aware but there have been seven bank robberies, all by the same man, in six different states over the past eighteen months." As he spoke he handed photos across his desk. "This man apparently works alone and his MO is always the same. He enters a small branch of a local bank and robs only the working cash. He avoids the money with dye packs or GPS markers. Then he orders all the staff to lie face down on the floor behind the counter and he kills them all with a 9 millimeter shot to the back of the head."

"Is it always the same gun?" Jerry asked.

"Yes. A Beretta. The security tapes show him handing the tellers notes saying that he has a gun but he doesn't draw it until after he has the money."

"You said that he orders the employees behind the counter. What about the customers?" Fritz asked.

"He always robs the bank when there are no customers inside. These are low volume branches of small local banks in remote locations and we suspect that he watches the bank until it's empty before he makes his move."

"What about security guards?"

"He chooses small banks that don't have security guards."

"We don't get a good look at his face but I see he's wearing a heavy beard in each of these pictures," Fritz commented, "But it looks too heavy. Fake."

"Almost cartoonish," Jerry agreed.

"Everyone who has seen those pictures agrees," Dave replied. "But we can't say with any degree of certainty that the beard is a fake."

"It's effective," Jerry observed. "Between the baseball cap and the beard we can't get a good look at him."

Fritz looked up. "What about the outside security cameras?"

"There's nothing. We assume he figures out how to avoid them."

"Where have these robberies occurred?" Fritz asked.

"In this order: Tampa, Pensacola, Mobile, St. Louis. There were two there. Then Las Cruces and Phoenix. All suburbs or nearby small towns. The Phoenix job was seven weeks ago so he could be getting ready to strike again soon."

"So he's making his way west."

Dave nodded at Fritz's conclusion. "It appears so. We're thinking he might strike San Diego or Los Angeles next, which is why I'm assigning this case to the two of you." Dave handed each of them a sheet of paper as he continued, "This is a list of agents assigned to the case in each city this guy has robbed and the agents in San Diego, as well. See what you can come up with."

"Yes, sir."

As both men started to rise, Dave said, "Fritz, I need to talk to you about something so hold on a minute." After Jerry had left, Dave turned back to Fritz and said, "I want to make it perfectly clear to you that this is an FBI case. Your girlfriend is not to be involved."

"Dave, I can assure you that if this guy murders people in Los Angeles, Brenda will be involved. The only way to prevent it is to tell Will Pope what you just told me. When it comes to work, he has more influence over her than I do."

Dave sighed, nodded, and then asked, "Are you sure you want to be involved with that woman?"

Fritz's jaw hardened and his eyes narrowed. But he bit his tongue and only replied, "Don't go there, Dave." Then, still fuming, he returned to his own office. He knew he had to set his personal feelings aside so he pulled up the information on each of the robberies on his computer. As they were printing he picked up his phone. "Jerry, how do you think he managed a clean getaway each time?"

"Well, he killed all the possible witnesses so maybe he didn't think he had to be in any hurry so he just calmly walked away as if nothing was wrong. He apparently was so smooth that he didn't catch anyone's attention."

"But in almost every case there were other people nearby who should have seen him leave, yet no one saw anything at any of the murder sites. Do you think he had an accomplice waiting in a getaway vehicle?"

"Dave said he works alone," Jerry reminded him.

"What if Dave is wrong? What if he works with a partner?"

"But these reports say that none of the security cameras showed a man with a heavy beard in the parking lot and none showed the same vehicle."

"Yeah. You're right. So where did he go?"

"I don't know, Fritz. This guy has to be a magician."

"He's got a great disappearing act, that's for sure," Fritz replied as he continued to study the photos.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone buzzing. He smiled when he saw that it was a text message from Brenda. "Picked up a murder. Probably working late."

_I am so glad her work is limited to the City of Los Angeles_.

* * *

Fritz was sitting on the sofa poring over the paperwork he'd spread out when Brenda walked through the door. She smiled and said, "It must really be important if you shoved your baseball thingy aside."

He returned her smile, got up and gave her a kiss. "Your dad called. He wants you to call him back."

"What did he want?"

"He didn't say. I told him that you were working late tonight and that was the extent of our conversation."

She nodded, "Well, it's too late to call him back tonight. It's after midnight there. I'll call him tomorrow. Besides, I don't feel good and I'm exhausted so I'm gonna go to bed. You comin'?"

"In a little bit. I want to finish reading these reports first."

"Whatcha workin' on that's so important?"

"A string of bank robberies across the country." He deliberately didn't mention the word murder or the fact that they anticipated an eventual strike in LA.

"Oh. Well, I guess I can't help you there. Good night," and she kissed him again and disappeared into the bedroom, followed by Kitty who felt she was also entitled to some attention.

Fritz settled back down onto the sofa and read through the reports he'd printed off from NIBRS, the National Incident Reporting System that the FBI had recently initiated. As he finished reading he mumbled, "There's not enough here to go on. I wonder if the old Uniform Crime Reports system has anything else." Since there was nothing more he could do, he turned off the lights and went to bed.

* * *

Fritz awoke to the sound of water running in the shower and Brenda humming. _She must be feeling better,_ he thought as he got out of bed. He pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped into the warm spray and into Brenda's arms.

"Well, did you solve your case?" she asked as she put shower gel on her washcloth and began to lather his chest.

"Not yet. I need more information from the other agents involved. How do you feel this morning?"

"I feel fine. You'll solve your case. I have faith in you," she smiled as she continued washing his torso.

"Such faith in my ability deserves to be rewarded," he replied as he backed her up to the shower wall and kissed her. She responded with kisses that fueled their desire.

* * *

When Fritz got off the elevator he passed Trudy Desmond in the hallway. "Good morning, Trudy."

"Mornin', Agent Howard." Trudy flashed him a big smile, revealing a gold tooth._ Mmm mmm. Dere he goes wid 'nother satisfied smile. Dat man sure get a lot of those, _she chuckled as she grabbed her cleaning supplies and hung a "Closed for Cleaning" sign on the Ladies' Room door.

After opening his briefcase and retrieving the NIBRS files he went to Sally's desk just as she came from the break room with a full "World's Best Mom" mug. "Good morning, Agent Howard. What can I do for you?"

"Good morning, Sally. Do you still have the UCR system on your computer?"

"I think so. They're removing it but I don't think they've gotten to mine yet. What are you looking for?"

"Some information on these bank robberies and murders," he replied as he put his reports on her desk.

"But these are NIBRS files. Do you think UCR will have anything different?"

"I don't know, but I'd like you to check and see."

"I'll look, but anything they'd still have would be old. They stopped uploading new material to UCR when NIBRS went online."

"It's probably futile, Sally, I know. But I'm desperate for more information."

She nodded, "I'll run these and see what I can find."

An hour later Sally knocked on Fritz's door. "Agent Howard, I don't know if this will help but I did find this. It's not much, though," and she handed him a short UCR form.

He eagerly accepted the brief report. "This said that there was an armed robbery in Louisville two years ago with a similar MO."

Sally nodded, "The robber wore theater makeup."

"Thank you, Sally. Would you please print another copy of this and give it to Agent Oakes?" When Sally left, Fritz called the FBI agent handling the investigation in Kentucky to see if he had any information that was not included in the UCR report.

"Well, I appreciate it. Thanks," he concluded as Jerry entered his office.

"Do you think this old robbery is by the same guy?"

"I don't know, but I think it might be more than coincidence that the robber wore theatrical makeup and our guy is wearing what could be a theatrical beard."

"But this report doesn't indicate any murders."

"No. I just got off the phone with the agent in Louisville and he said that there were no injuries or deaths. He did flash his gun and he ordered everyone to lie down on the floor behind the counter, but he didn't hurt anyone. Agent Adams is going to fax me the composite sketches and the witness statements. He said that they were published in the paper and they got lots of tips but none panned out."

"Let's suppose that this is the same guy. He got away with it, so why did he decide he had to start killing people?"

"Maybe the composites are too close to his real appearance for comfort."

* * *

That night at dinner Fritz asked Brenda if she'd returned her father's call.

"Yes, and he wants to come here for a visit."

"You don't sound like you want that to happen."

"Yes and no. Of course I want to see them but we're both really busy right now. Besides, I'm not gettin' over this cold and I just don't feel like entertainin'."

"Are you sure you've got a cold? You don't have any symptoms – no runny nose, sneezing or coughing."

"That's because I'm gulpin' cold medicine like crazy."

"Well if it's just a cold you'd be over it before they'd get here, and I think it's about time that your father and I met."

"I don't want to talk about that right now. How's your case comin' along?"

"Slow, very slow. We found an old robbery in Louisville that happened over two years ago. There might be a link but there's not much even remotely connecting that one with the recent string."

"You'll crack it. I know you will."

When they had cleaned the kitchen she turned to him and asked, "Honey, would you mind if I took a look at your case?"

"Brennddaa."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Fritzi! I know it's an FBI case. None of the robberies even happened in Los Angeles. I just thought I might be able to help, that's all."

He looked at her for a moment then said, "Well, another pair of eyes might help. Okay, but you've got to remember that this is an FBI matter," he cautioned.

"I know, I know," she replied in an irritated tone, "Jeez, you accuse _me_ of bein' territorial." Then she grabbed his file and sat down on the sofa, spreading its contents out on the coffee table. "Let's put everythin' in chronological order."

Fritz took all the reports and laid them out in order for her. "The old case took place in Louisville and it was just a bank robbery – nobody got hurt." Then he told her what they knew about the rest of the cases.

Brenda studied the still shots and said, "This guy certainly knew how to hide his identity without hidin' his face."

"The press refers to him as 'The Bearded Bandit'."

"Now that's a really corny nickname," Brenda sneered.

"Don't look at me. I didn't give it to him."

"Well it's a really dumb media nickname, no matter who came up with it… Wait a minute. I just thought of somethin'."

"What?"

"Well, all of these recent robberies follow a southern coastal route. See how they hug the southern border?"

"But two of them don't, maybe three if the Louisville robbery is by the same man."

"That's it! Why would he start in Florida and work his way west along the Gulf coast and then suddenly head north, half-way to the Canadian border?"

"Do you think the St. Louis robberies were by someone else?"

"No, Fritzi. They were all by the same man. Don't you see?" When she saw Fritz's confused expression she continued, "He went home for some reason. He's from the St. Louis area. Either that or his accomplice is."

"You're right! It was right in front of me and I didn't see it. You're a genius, honey," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"I'll bet his identity can be found in St. Louis."

As she spoke, Fritz got up and retrieved their road atlas. "And Louisville is only four hours from St. Louis."

"It's beginnin' to look like that first robbery was a practice run."

"You really think he worked with an accomplice?"

"Yes, he had to. Someone had to drive the getaway car. He wouldn't have dared walk across the parkin' lot to a vehicle. It would take too much time and attract too much attention. Besides, he would have to know he'd be spotted on the outside security cameras." She continued to study the maps. "It must be the same person because the MO is the same all across the country. So if it's the same person, chances are the accomplice is a wife or a girlfriend."

"Thanks, honey. You are wonderful!" Fritz said as he took her into his arms and gave her a big hug.

* * *

The next morning, Fritz walked into Jerry's office and briefed him. "Now, let's go talk to Dave," he said.

When they were in his boss' conference room, Fritz spread everything out on the table. As he briefed Dave on the Louisville robbery he spread out a USA map and showed him the path of the robberies. Then he explained the theory about St. Louis being home to the robber and the theory about a wife or girlfriend acting as the getaway driver.

Dave studied the map for a few minutes, then turned to Fritz. "It makes perfect sense. You made quite a breakthrough. Great work, Fritz."

"Well, thanks. But I didn't come up with this theory. Brenda did."

Dave's face turned dark. "Didn't I give you specific orders that Brenda was not to be involved?"

"She isn't involved, Dave, and she won't be unless this guy kills people in LA." When Fritz saw skepticism on Dave's face he continued, "She accepts that this is an FBI case. She just wanted to help. And we've all just benefited from her genius in working cases. Hell, she got farther in one evening than anyone in the Bureau has gotten in weeks."

"It's not that I don't appreciate the insight. If you want, I'll even write her a thank you note. But we simply cannot lose control of this case."

"If we don't catch this guy before he gets to LA, aren't we going to lose control of it anyway?" Jerry asked.

"It seems to me that Brenda just helped make a giant leap toward catching him before he gets here," Fritz added. Dave sighed but didn't reply. He just looked annoyed.

When they left Dave's office, Fritz turned to Jerry and said, "Thanks. I know you don't care for Brenda so I appreciate your support. It helped a lot."

"You're right. I don't like Brenda because she treats us like yesterday's dog shit. But what I do care about is catching this guy before he kills again. If she can help us do that and we have to share credit with her, so be it," Jerry explained.

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The following morning Fritz and Jerry were once again reviewing the reports they had received on the murders.

"Even though we're not sure that the Louisville bank job is by the same guy, maybe we should interview the witnesses of that one too," Jerry suggested.

"I think you're right. Brenda thinks it's by the same man. And given her instincts, that's good enough for me to proceed," Fritz agreed. "Let's get all the PD witness statements first. We can start with Louisville."

"Let's use my office. I've got the number on my desk," Jerry said as he folded the map. When they got to his office he dialed the number of the Louisville PD. When he was connected to the Captain of the robbery unit, he put the phone on speaker and identified himself and Fritz before explaining why they were calling.

Captain Roderick pulled up his computer file and agreed to help by faxing the witness statements.

"Thanks, Captain. That would be a tremendous help. Could you also send us the security camera footage?" Fritz asked.

"I'll have to have my IT guy copy them into computer files and he can email them to you."

When they ended the call Jerry complained, "Why can't we get that kind of cooperation from the LAPD?"

"The answer to that question lies way above my pay grade," Fritz sighed.

Dave knocked on Jerry's door and asked, "How is it going?"

"We just got off the phone with the Louisville PD. They're sending us the witness statements on the robbery. The Captain said that the witnesses all said he was around 5'9" and that he was rather skinny. Also, he reeked of cigarette smoke and spoke with a husky voice, so they think he's a chain smoker."

"They're sending security camera footage, as well. And that makes me wonder. Why don't we have security footage on the murder cases? All we have are screen caps and a notation that there wasn't any useful video material."

"There is a glitch in the system when it comes to videos. Let me contact the other FBI offices and request that footage."

The video files arrived at the end of the day and Jerry and Fritz stayed late to watch and rewatch them. But, at the end, Jerry sighed, "The system is right. There's nothing on any of these."

"There has to be something. Let's watch them again."

They reviewed all the footage without seeing anything helpful. Finally Jerry said, "It's late and I'm exhausted so I'm calling it quits for the night."

"There's got to be something helpful here that we're missing. I want to watch one more time."

"I'll have to watch them in the morning. My eyes won't focus anymore. See you tomorrow."

"In that case I'm going to load them onto my laptop and watch them at home."

* * *

Brenda was finishing her wine when Fritz walked through the door. After giving him a kiss she asked, "How are you comin' on your case?"

"Not so good. Everything seems to be a dead end. We got some material from the Louisville robbery today and I brought it all home to see if I could find anything."

"I'm runnin' a fever so I think I'm gonna take some aspirin, take a shower and go to bed."

He saw the perspiration soaking through her blouse and asked, "Honey, don't you think it's time to see a doctor?"

"For a cold? No, I don't."

"This doesn't seem like a cold to me."

"Stress is makin' it worse. Besides, I'm not gonna spend half a day sittin' in a doctor's office just to be told that I should take two aspirins and get plenty of rest. I'm gonna do that on my own right now."

"Okay, but promise me that if you're not better tomorrow that you'll call the doctor."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. All I need is a good night's sleep."

Fritz watched with worried eyes as she left the room then he sighed and opened up his laptop. As the footage played out on his computer he suddenly thought he saw something and backed up the video to watch it again. When he heard the water shut off he called out, "Brenda, can you come here for a minute?"

"What is it?" she asked as she entered the living room while wrapping a towel around her hair.

"I've watched this too many times and can use a pair of fresh eyes. Could you take a look at this and tell me if you spot anything?"

She sat beside him and watched a split screen of two pieces of film. "It looks like the man in the parkin' lot is wearin' the same color T-shirt as the man in the bank is wearin' underneath that plaid shirt."

"That's what I thought, but it's black and white film from two different cameras so I couldn't be sure."

They both continued to watch as the man in the parking lot got into the passenger side of a white pickup and slowly pulled out into traffic. "Well, if it is him he's not wearin' his beard and they're certainly not in any hurry."

"This is from the Louisville robbery and he was just wearing theatrical makeup. No beard. That's probably why no one gave him a second thought," Fritz said.

"I think it's the same guy. It looks like he's wearin' the same kind of jeans and T-shirt. But where's the money and his plaid shirt?"

"He looks a little heavier. Could he have stuffed them down his shirt?"

"But wouldn't that show on the bank camera?"

"Maybe he pulled off the shirt at the point where one camera ends and before the other begins."

"So, you think he found the cameras' blind spot? Or do you think he changed in the bathroom?"

"I don't think he would have dared use the bathroom. What if someone came into the bank while he was in there?"

"Right. If he cased the place in advance he figured out exactly where to stand to avoid the cameras."

"Oh, I'm sure he did," Fritz agreed. "He knew that particular branch had slow traffic. And that means he arrived a day or two ahead of each hit."

"Then what about earlier camera footage?"

"If there's no trouble, the banks don't save them."

"Now, at least, we can be sure that he's got a getaway driver. Another man. Does that seem as odd to you as it does to me?"

"If the robberies were all local, I wouldn't think anything of it."

"But two guys drivin' cross country, robbin' and murderin' people? Are they brothers? Or lovers?"

"They probably have some kind of relationship to stay together cross country for so long," Fritz agreed as he looked at the clock. "I'm going to check out the rest of the videos to see if they're on those cameras too."

"Okay, I'm gonna give Kitty fresh water and then I'm goin' to bed," she sighed.

"I'll give her water. You go on to bed. And thanks. You've been a big help," he said as he kissed her good night.

"Thanks," and she headed into the bedroom and turned out the lights.

Fritz turned back to the remainder of the video files and watched them intently. "Wow. No wonder we missed this," he muttered as he shut down his computer for the night.

The next morning while they were getting dressed Brenda asked him if anything showed up on the rest of the videos.

"Yeah, the same thing. Each time he wears a T-shirt under another shirt and, in each case, our guy got into the passenger seat of a getaway vehicle. But get this… Each vehicle was different."

"So they're stealin' vehicles for each job," Brenda concluded as Fritz nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I was able to see license plates on a few of them. I'm hoping we can enlarge them enough to read the plates and check them against vehicle thefts," Fritz said as he explained his findings to Dave and Jerry.

"Fantastic! Let's get these videos to Ned Thorenson for analysis right away." Dave was euphoric.

But his jubilation didn't last long. That afternoon he walked into Fritz's office and asked, "Where's Jerry?"

"He had a dentist appointment. He should be back soon. Why?"

"They struck again. Three people murdered in Torrey Pines this morning. Same MO. But this time there was very little cash in the drawers so they only got a little over four hundred dollars. I've requested an expedited report and a copy of all surveillance video."

"Damn it! Torrey Pines? That's just north of San Diego."

Dave nodded, "He's on LA's doorstep, and since their haul was so small they'll probably hit another bank soon. Fritz, we've got to catch him before he strikes again so you and Jerry need to pull out all the stops."

"We will. But light a fire under Ned, would you?"

"I already have."

When Ned brought his findings to Fritz's office he called Jerry and the two of them reviewed Ned's information.

"We were right. He's stealing a different vehicle for each job."

"Who is 'we'?"

"Brenda and I," Fritz answered as he picked up his phone to call Dave.

"Well, don't tell him that. You know how he feels about her involvement."

"We both came to the same conclusion at the same time," Fritz replied as he dialed. Then he filled Dave in on their findings and concluded by telling him, "We need to get the details on each one of those vehicles."

"We've got 9 vehicles total. Let's each make three calls to local law enforcement and see what we can get," Dave suggested.

After gathering all the vehicle information, they discovered that each one was stolen, most from a local motel just prior to the robbery. In one case, the owner had gone back into his room to get more luggage and came back to find his car gone. Later the same day each vehicle was found abandoned and wiped clean of prints.

While Dave left to call the U.S. Attorney's office to obtain a warrant, Fritz called the list of motels where the vehicles were stolen and spoke to the managers requesting copies of the registration cards of each person who had stayed there the night before the robberies. He assured them that a federal warrant was being faxed to them.

They immediately saw a similarity in the handwriting of one woman who registered at each motel. Because the signature appeared to be the same handwriting on each card they requested a handwriting analyst compare the cards.

"And look at the similarity of names," Jerry said. Then he recited, "Janelle Ferris, Janine Randolph, Janette Torring, Jan Burdick, Jane Tyler, Jean Farley, Janette Torring once more, and here's another Jan Burdick."

"I don't know if one of those first names is actually her real name or not, but it sure looks like the same handwriting. I'm going to call that Torrey Pines motel and ask if anyone remembers Jan Burdick. Maybe we can get a description. Brenda thinks that St. Louis is home base so, in the meantime, why don't you call the FBI office and the local police in St. Louis. Let's see if one of these names rings any bells with them."

Jerry nodded and picked up his cell phone as Fritz reached for his desk phone. When they had finished their calls they pieced together their new information.

"The Pines' desk clerk remembered her. She was brunette, pretty, and had a tattoo of a rose on her right shoulder. He didn't see who she was with, though, and she didn't register a vehicle with the front desk. And coincidentally, a pickup was reported stolen from the parking lot the next morning but it was recovered in the forest later that same day."

"They're sticking to their MO," Jerry observed. "I hit pay dirt. Listen to this. I gave the aliases to the St. Louis PD and he said that Janine Randolph is well known to them. It's an alias used by a Jennifer Reed. She has a lengthy juvenile record, now sealed, but she only paused her criminal ways when she turned 21. She acted in local theater for a couple of years but eventually decided that the bright lights weren't for her and went back to a quicker way to earn a living. She's been in and out of jail because of several car thefts and convenience store robberies. But even though she's on parole, her present whereabouts are unknown. And her physical description matches the description your motel clerk just gave you. Oh, and St. Louis said that she's addicted to social media so if we can figure out her screen name, we might be able to find her online and maybe the Bearded Bandit, as well."

"Ask Dave to get warrants for the most popular social media sites. Hopefully she registered with her real name, or one of these same aliases." Fritz suggested as Jerry nodded and once again picked up his phone.

"Chances are she did. You know that criminals are not usually the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree."

Fritz nodded, "I suspect this 'bulb' is pretty bright. Hopefully, though, she's a creature of habit because that will make it easier for us to catch them before anyone else gets killed. Did they have any information on a male companion?"

"No. They said that they had no idea. She doesn't have a brother and they don't know of anyone she might be dating."

Fritz's phone rang. It was Dave advising them that their warrants were being prepared and would be faxed first thing in the morning. Fritz put him on speaker phone and advised him of their latest breakthrough.

"Great work, guys. Now go on home. There's nothing we can do until those warrants go out."

"I've got one more phone call to make and then I'm heading home," Fritz replied.

"Okay, thanks. Both of you, get a good night's sleep and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Fritz looked up the number then called the Hotel Association of Los Angeles. He explained that they were looking for a pair of suspects wanted for questioning in a string of robberies who appear to either be on their way to LA or already here. He was careful to avoid mentioning homicide and further explained that they usually stay at two or three star motels and asked if HALA had an email list of their members who had moderately priced motels.

"Yes, we do maintain such a list," Warren McDonald replied warily.

"I'm wondering if you would send a mass email to every motel on that list. We'd like you to ask them to be on the lookout for a woman using one of several aliases. If she registers we're asking that they take no action other than to immediately contact the FBI and he gave both his and Jerry's cell phone numbers.

"If you can assure me that we won't be violating the law, I'll be happy to do that."

"No, she and her companion are only wanted for questioning so you will not be violating their rights or the law," Fritz replied. "And I want to assure you that these people have never been violent at any of the motels they've stayed at. They've never put anyone at risk at any motel. But it's very important that they not know that we're looking for them."

"And you'll be very careful not to traumatize our guests or staff, or destroy property?"

"Of course. We want to do everything we can to avoid violence."

"When would you like me to send out that email?" Mr. McDonald asked.

"Immediately. I'll fax you the list of names right now, and please copy me on that email."

"I guess I can do that. What would you like me to say?"

"Here's how I'd like the email to read." Fritz then dictated verbatim what he wanted Mr. McDonald to send.

"All right. I'll send this right away."

* * *

Brenda greeted Fritz at the door with a big smile and an enthusiastic kiss. "You must be feeling better today," he smiled as he put the Cuban Chicken dinners on the kitchen counter.

"I feel great," she replied happily. "As a matter of fact, I've felt really good all day long. I think my cold is finally gone. Now, let's eat. I'm starvin'."

As they ate, Fritz updated her on the recent developments of the "Bearded Bandit" case.

"So, they could be in LA right now."

"Yes. Their pattern has been to wait several weeks between robberies but their last job netted them less than five hundred dollars so we're afraid they'll hit again soon. We have to catch them before they kill anyone else."

After dinner, Fritz set up his laptop and studied the footage from Torrey Pines. Brenda joined him on the sofa and watched the videos with him.

"Has the FBI realized that if there's a murder in LA that Priority Homicide will be involved?" she asked at the end of the film.

"Uh huh. But, like I said, our biggest concern is preventing any more murders."

"Of course. And if there's anythin' I can do to help…"

"You've already helped a lot, and I appreciate it," Fritz said as he leaned over to kiss her.

She smiled and replied, "I love your kind of appreciation." Then she turned back to the laptop. "Let's watch it again."

"See, it's the same as the others. The man is wearing the fake beard and a shirt over a T-shirt."

"Wait a minute. I think I saw somethin'. Back that up a little." Brenda watched for a few seconds then said, "Pause it! Pause it!"

"What do you see?" Fritz asked, studying the frame.

"Look at those eyebrows."

"They're not as bushy as that thick a beard would indicate. If the beard is fake he could wear fake eyebrows too. Maybe he was in too big a hurry to put them on?"

"No, Fritzi. Look at them. They're perfect. That's not a man. It's a woman."

"You're right. And all the time we thought she was the getaway driver, but she's the killer."

"And look at that neckline. There's somethin' else there. Maybe the edge of a tattoo? Maybe your IT guy could enhance it tomorrow so you can tell for sure."

Fritz continued to stare at the screen. Finally Brenda asked, "Don't I even get a thank you?"

He looked at her smiling face and replied, "Yes, you do," and put his arms around her. "And if you're up for it, I've got an even bigger thank you gift waiting for you."

"You know how much I love openin' presents," she whispered as she unbuckled his belt and untucked his shirt.

* * *

The next morning, Fritz was on the phone as he drove into work advising Jerry of Brenda's discovery. "Hopefully the motel managers will take it seriously and we can nab these two before they reach another bank."

"I wonder where they spend their off days," Jerry mused, "It's a very short drive from Torrey Pines to LA."

"Venice Beach? Disneyland? Who knows? I'll bet they're here, though. Probably casing a bank somewhere."

When he arrived, Fritz helped himself to coffee and signaled to Jerry to come to his office. Dave then appeared in the doorway and listened to Fritz present the latest developments. "That's very impressive, Fritz. Both of you have done a remarkable job. What's next?"

"I'm hoping to hear back from one of the motel managers. Until then I think we should call each one of the motels on the list and make sure they paid attention to the email. I don't want it to sit in their spam folder."

"But it's from HALA," Dave said, confused. "Why would it be in their spam folder?"

"Because it's from HALA. If it's like other professional organizations, ninety percent of what they send out is completely unnecessary so it's ignored. And I don't want them to ignore or forget about this one."

Dave rolled his eyes then observed, "That's a pretty long list."

"I know, but if we divided it up among all of us, we could cover the entire thing this morning."

"But we don't want to alarm them and make them tip off the killers."

"No. When they call, the agents need to emphasize that all we want them to do is confirm if any one of the aliases registers at their motel."

"All right. I'll make copies of the list and distribute it."

"Actually, we can't do anything else right now so Fritz and I can double up on motels. That will shorten other agents' work," Jerry volunteered.

"Good idea," Fritz nodded. "I'll call until I lose my voice."

"We both will," Jerry added.

After their calls were all made, Jerry commented, "And now we wait."

"And do what all government grunts do best."

"Paperwork," they both said at the same time.

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

When Fritz walked through the door that night, the first thing he saw was Brenda lying down on the couch, her clothing once more soaked in perspiration. He put his briefcase and keys down and moved to her side. As he felt her forehead he said, "Honey, you're burning up."

She looked up at him and replied, frustrated, "I don't know why I can't get over this cold."

"Maybe it's because you don't have a cold," his voice giving evidence of his weariness at hearing the same old wrong diagnosis.

"Of course it's a cold. What else would it be?"

"You're asking the wrong person. You should be asking…"

"If you tell me to see a doctor one more time, I'm gonna start screamin'. I've already told you that a doctor would just tell me to get plenty of rest and take aspirin."

"He might give you a prescription for something that would actually attack whatever the real problem is."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE SITTIN' IN A DOCTOR'S OFFICE!" Brenda screamed.

The intensity of Brenda's reaction startled Fritz. "Honey, I just want to see you get well. Don't you want to feel good again?"

"NO, FRITZ. I WANT TO RUN A FEVER THE REST OF MY LIFE!" She defiantly met his gaze, then she lowered her eyes. "I'm gonna take a shower before we eat." And she got up off the sofa and went into the bathroom.

He followed her and saw two other wet towels drying on the towel bar. "Honey, this is driving me crazy. We have to get to the bottom of this. I'm going to call Dr. Jackson and make an appointment for you."

"No! I'm too busy to take time off work because of a cold," she yelled. "Drop it!"

Fritz just shook his head and sighed in frustration and went into the living room and turned on the TV, trying unsuccessfully to focus on the news. After a few minutes he gave up and picked up the phone, calling in an order for pizza.

Brenda came out of the bathroom just as he hung up the phone. "Good. I don't feel like goin' out tonight. Did you remember the black olives and the fresh tomatoes?"

"Yes, and the mushrooms too. Don't change the subject."

"I thought the subject was closed when you walked out of the room."

"In that case I'm reopening it. This has been going on too long. If you're not better in two days I'm calling the doctor."

"He doesn't have office hours after I get out of work," and she grabbed the aspirin and her water bottle.

"Then we'll go to the walk-in clinic at the drug store. But you're going to see a health professional who might actually know what the problem is."

"Where's that pizza? Is it comin' by way of Siberia or somethin'?"

* * *

The FBI was frustrated. There was nothing they could do besides wait, but all Dave, Jerry, and Fritz could think about was the possibility that the killers would out-maneuver them and more people would die.

They knew they couldn't allow innocent civilians to be hurt so they knew they'd have to isolate them and take them by surprise. As they waited Fritz and Jerry perfected a plan which they hoped would enable them to make peaceful arrests.

"Have either of you heard anything?" Dave walked into Fritz's office and sat down beside Jerry.

"Not yet, but we think we've developed a pretty good plan. Now, all they have to do is repeat the pattern," Jerry replied.

"We're all creatures of habit," Fritz nodded, "And it's worked for them so far. I can't see them breaking it now."

"Except that their last job netted them so little."

"True. They'll probably strike sooner, but the rest of the pattern should stay the same."

* * *

Two days later, Fritz looked at the clock, his thoughts on Brenda. _Her time is up. I'm taking her to the walk-in clinic tonight if I have to physically drag her there,_ he thought. But just as he was mentally preparing himself for battle his cell phone rang. "Agent Fritz Howard, FBI."

"Agent Howard?" the voice on the other end of the line sounded nervous.

"Yes, sir. To whom am I speaking?"

"This is Donald Blair. I'm the manager of the Blue Harbor Inn in Harbor City. I received an email and a call from you people saying you were looking for a woman."

Fritz's adrenal glands were now in geyser mode. "Yes, sir, we are. Is she at your motel?"

"Not yet, but we just received a reservation request for a party of two and the name on the reservation is Janelle Ferris. The note on the reservation request said they'd arrive after 6:00."

Fritz saw Agent Hoechsler in the hall and gesticulated wildly to get his attention. When he had it he said "Hold on for just a minute, Mr. Blair." As he punched the hold button he asked, "Can you find Jerry and tell him to come to my office right away?"

When he saw him nod and turn toward Jerry's office, Fritz turned back to the phone. "Thanks for holding. I need to ask you some questions. First, do you have a Business Center where guests can have access to an online computer?"

"Yes, but it's rarely used. You see we have free WiFi service in all our rooms."

"Okay. Good. And is it possible to disconnect the WiFi from a single room?"

"Yes, but we don't like to do that unless it's absolutely necessary."

"It's necessary," he replied as Jerry slid into the seat in front of Fritz's desk. When Jerry heard the conversation he pulled out his cell phone and quietly alerted Dave.

"I can disconnect it to their room from the front desk." Mr. Blair replied.

"Excellent."

"Do you want me to tell them that there's no WiFi in that room?"

"No, don't say anything. Just register them. And if one of them calls to complain, just apologize for the inconvenience and tell them about the computer available to them in the Business Center."

"All right. I can do that."

Fritz heard the tremor in the manager's voice so he replied, "We're on our way. We'd like one of our people to register them, if that's all right with you."

"Well, I don't know about that. We have a strict policy…"

"Mr. Blair, I can assure you that all we want to do is make sure that everything goes smoothly and no one's stay at your motel is disrupted."

"Well, all right then. I've got a spare jacket in my office that your man can wear."

"We'll be right there. In the meantime, please disconnect the WiFi to that room. And if you have an end room that you can save for them, that would help."

"I already figured that an end room would be best to insure the safety of our other guests."

"Thank you." Fritz looked at his watch just as Dave entered his office, "We'll be there in about half an hour."

"They're here?" Dave asked.

"They're apparently on their way. The Blue Harbor Inn in Harbor City. Jerry and I are leaving now."

"I'll arrange backup," Dave nodded and returned to his office.

* * *

As they pulled into the Blue Harbor Inn parking lot they saw two more agents arriving. "That was fast," Jerry commented. "Dave must have kicked butt."

"He must have left bruises if Esposito is one of the first to arrive."

As they entered, they saw two more agents arrive and take seats in the lounge and begin reading copies of the free newspaper that the Blue Harbor Inn provided to guests. Fritz stepped up to the counter and when the smiling young clerk asked how she could help them he replied, "I'd like to speak to Mr. Blair, please."

"Certainly, sir," and she walked into the office behind the counter.

As he waited, Fritz double checked to see if the suspect was among the several guests in the lounge. He was relieved not to see anyone fitting her description. Jerry had taken a seat in the lounge and was watching the local news on TV.

"Mr. Blair?" Fritz showed his ID and followed the manager into the office. "I've got something for you," he said and handed him a warrant permitting the FBI to search any and all rooms as well as vehicles on the premises. "This is just to protect us both. We expect we're only going to use it for your Business Center and for Ms. Ferris' room and vehicle," he explained.

"I've got a spare jacket but I'm afraid it's too small for you," he replied.

Fritz signaled for Jerry and when he approached the counter, Mr. Blair nodded, "Yes, I think it will fit him. Why don't you step down this hallway and I'll show you the Business Center?" Then he spoke to the desk clerk, "Darla, this man is going to work with us for a little while. Will you get him the jacket that's hanging on the back of my door and teach him how to register guests?"

"Certainly, sir," she smiled at Jerry and said, "This way. I'm Darla. You must be a new employee. What's your name?"

"Jerry. I'm just here for a few hours to get a feel for how things are done."

"Then you must be from Corporate. I've heard that they like to make unannounced visits."

"Unfortunately, I can't comment."

"I understand," Darla smiled knowingly.

Fritz entered the Business Center and saw two computers and a printer. "I need to make sure only one computer is being used so I'd like to make an out of order sign and tape it to the other monitor. We'll remove it as soon as we're finished."

"Certainly. I'll get you a Sharpie and some scotch tape. You can use printer paper."

As soon as the sign was made Fritz unplugged the second computer and sat down in front of the screen closest to the door. He brought up the desktop and opened its properties and proceeded to edit it. When he was finished he walked back across the hall to Mr. Blair's office. "We anticipate that this is going to be completely safe, but as a precaution when they enter, I'd like you and Darla to stay in your office and let Agent Oakes handle the desk."

"Will this take long? I'm very nervous about letting non-employees handle the front desk."

"Darla will be with him up until our suspects enter and then my partner can handle them alone. We have additional people standing by to make sure everything runs according to plan." Fritz kept his tone reassuring, belying the condition of his nerves. "And when it's all over, you'll get an official Letter of Commendation from the Bureau for your assistance and concern for public safety to add to your resumé," he smiled. And just in case further inducement was needed, Fritz added, "We'll also be willing to comment about your helpfulness to the local press."

When Mr. Blair heard that he perked up and said, "Thank you. I would appreciate that."

"Oh, well, you deserve it. The Bureau is very appreciative of your help and cooperation." And Fritz left his office and took a seat in the lobby and struck up a conversation with another agent. Soon he saw a tall brunette woman sporting a tattoo on her shoulder enter and get into line. She perfectly fit the description that the St. Louis PD had given of Jennifer Reed and she reeked of cigarette smoke.

When the elderly couple in front of her finished registering, Jerry turned to Darla and said, "I think I can handle this next one by myself." He turned to the woman and said with a smile, "Welcome to the Blue Harbor Inn. How may I help you?"

"I have a reservation."

"Your name, please?"

"Janelle Ferris."

Fritz noticed that her body language was relaxed. _She doesn't suspect a thing._

"Yes, Ms. Ferris. I have it here. Would you fill out this registration card for me, please?"

Jerry looked at it briefly when she handed the completed card back to him and asked, "Will you be needing one key or two?"

"Two, please."

Jerry made the keys and handed them to her as he said, "Your room is number 124 at the end of the building."

"Thank you," she replied, turned and walked out of the lobby.

As soon as she was out of view, Fritz stepped to the door, pulling out a walkie talkie and alerted agents Dom Battaglia and Bill Conroy who were waiting in the parking lot. "Just see if you can get a visual on her companion and continue to watch the room. Unless they do something unexpected, the next move is theirs," he said quietly and he returned to his seat.

Jerry had instructed Darla to alert him when a call came from room 124 and not to answer it herself. She gave him a puzzled look and went in to ask her boss what was going on. "Everything is all right," Mr. Blair tried to assure her in a nervous voice, "Just do as he asks."

"All right, but this is really weird," she commented and returned to the desk. But her thoughts were redirected by other people coming in to register. She explained Jerry's presence by telling customers that he was a new trainee and watched him register the additional guests. And Fritz and the other agents just sat and waited.

An hour later, the switchboard showed a call from room 124 so Jerry answered it, "Front desk."

"This is Janelle Ferris in room 124. The WiFi isn't working in my room. Can you fix it?"

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Ma'am. I'm going to put you on hold while I check with building maintenance." He nodded to Fritz and the other agents and after a minute turned back to the switchboard. "Ma'am, I'm terribly sorry but the man who handles the computers isn't available right now."

"Well, can you move me to a different room then?"

"I'm sorry but we're completely booked. However, we do have a Business Center that you're welcome to use."

"Damn it. This is ridiculous. Isn't there anyone there who can fix it?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm afraid not. But our Business Center has a computer already hooked up to the internet as well as a printer. You're welcome to use it as long as you'd like."

"All right. But when I'm finished I want to speak to the manager."

"Certainly, ma'am. I'll let him know about the problem."

"I'll be down in a little while."

For the next half hour, there was no activity. Jennifer didn't show and both Fritz and Jerry were afraid that something blew their cover and that she wouldn't come. That would make the capture much more difficult and almost guarantee a violent confrontation.

Fritz got up and went into the Business Center where he closed the door and used his walkie talkie to contact Agent Battaglia in the surveillance car parked where they could observe room 124. "Can you see any action?"

"Nothing. I don't think they realize anything is wrong. They haven't opened the door or moved the drapes."

"Okay. Then I guess we just sit and wait." He returned to the lobby and took his seat.

About thirty minutes later his walkie talkie buzzed so Fritz returned to the Business Center. "Yes?"

"She just came out and is headed your way."

Fritz's pulse revved up but he replied, "Hold your position. I'll signal you when it's time to move."

"OK. Everything is ready here. We'll wait for your call."

As Fritz walked back into the lobby he saw Jennifer approach Jerry, and he watched as Jerry smiled and showed her to the Business Center. "Just hit the space bar to activate the computer. Oh, and there's more printer paper in the cabinet below, in case you need more. Is there anything else I can do for you?" He asked, killing time while waiting for Fritz and the other agents to get into position.

"Is the manager here? I want to talk to him later."

"Yes, and I've told him about the WiFi failure in your room."

"Then that's all," she said as she sat down.

"All right. I'm going to leave the door open because these machines generate a lot of heat and this is a small room." Jerry then stepped back.

Jennifer turned to the computer and pressed the spacebar. She recoiled and her mouth dropped open when she read the screen.

_Jennifer Reed, The FBI wants you to know that you are under arrest for murder, bank robbery, and grand theft auto._

_You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to be represented by an attorney and to have an attorney with you during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you. Do you understand these rights that the FBI has just provided to you?_

When the message sank in she turned to see Fritz and Jerry with guns drawn and pointed at her.

"Stand up and turn around, Jennifer Reed, AKA Janine Randolph, AKA Janelle Ferris, AKA Janette Torring, AKA Jan Burdick, AKA Jane Tyler, and AKA Jean Farley," Fritz commanded as he retrieved his handcuffs from his belt. When she was in cuffs, he withdrew his walkie talkie and told Agent Battaglia, "You've got a green light. Be careful, guys."

As they led her out of the Business Center, Jerry handed the jacket to a stunned Darla and turned back to Fritz. "I can't believe you memorized all those aliases."

"I guess I did. I sure stared at them long enough."

* * *

When he had placed his walkie talkie back into his pocket, Dom turned to Bill and said, I wish I hadn't worn a suit and tie today."

Bill, dressed in work overalls and carrying a toolbox, nodded, "Yeah, it's a dead giveaway. Leave your jacket and tie in the car."

And as they walked across the parking lot Bill added, "Unbutton the top buttons of your shirt and roll up your sleeves. Try not to look like a fibbie." Agent Battaglia did as he was told just as they walked up to room 124.

Bill knocked on the door. "Maintenance."

Doug Perkins, a tattooed man holding a beer opened the door. "I didn't ask for Maintenance."

"We got a report that the WiFi isn't working in this room. My IT man here needs to take a look at it."

"Oh, okay," he replied and opened the door up for them to enter.

Dom went immediately to the desk and pretended to test some wires. "There's no signal here," he said. "I'm going to check the wiring in the room. Maybe I can hook up a temporary connection for you until we can locate the source of the WiFi problem," he explained and pretended to be following some unseen wiring around the back of the room.

Perkins nodded and sat down in his chair and took another swig of his beer.

"This will just take a few minutes, sir. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. Just hurry it up," Perkins replied turning his attention back to the television.

The agent continued moving around the room until he was directly behind Perkins, pulled out his gun and pressed it against the back of his head. "You're under arrest for murder, bank robbery and grand theft auto," Dom advised him before Bill read him the Miranda warning.

"Now, place your hands behind your head and stand up real slow or else your brains are going to wind up splattered across the room," Dom ordered. "Got it?"

"Got it," Perkins replied and he immediately complied.

When they walked their prisoner out of the room Agent Conroy asked, "You don't mind if we have a look at the trunk of your car, do you?" Two other agents opened the trunk of their car and one of them looked up and reported, "It's all here, the gun, the money, fake beard, shirts… everything."

* * *

After the prisoners were processed, a positively beaming Dave entered Fritz's office. "Great work! You both should get a medal for your work on this case."

"Thanks, Dave, but right now I just want some of Annette's cooking and a good night's sleep," Jerry replied.

"You deserve it. Go on home, both of you. We can do the rest of the paperwork tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good to me. Oh, Dave, I might need to take a few hours off tomorrow. Brenda is sick and she's refusing to see a doctor so I might need to flash my badge and gun at her in order to convince her to get medical care."

Jerry chuckled, "That might be a fight you can't win, partner. I'm glad all I'm dealing with is a microwaved dinner and a good night's sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, provided she doesn't beat you up."

Dave just shook his head and said, "You're a glutton for punishment, Fritz."

Before leaving for the night Fritz checked a text message from Brenda that he hadn't had time to read earlier. _Nothing here to eat. Pls bring something._

* * *

The water in the shower was running when Fritz opened the door. As he put his keys down Kitty came up demanding the attention she knew that she so richly deserved. He bent down and petted her before going in to check on Brenda.

"Oh, Fritz! You scared me. I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It's just that the water was runnin' and I…"

"You're still sick, aren't you?"

Brenda wouldn't look him in the eye. Instead, she just walked over to the counter and began drying her hair. "Did you catch the murderers?"

"Yes, we got them both."

"And you got them before they killed anyone else?" When Fritz nodded, she smiled and asked, "Where were they?"

"At the Blue Harbor Inn in Harbor City. We arrested them peacefully."

"I'm proud of you, honey. Did you bring anythin' for dinner?"

"Yes, I stopped at Ming's and got Chinese."

"Good. It's late and I'm hungry. Let's eat," she said and walked past him into the kitchen. "I hope they remembered the hot mustard." She emptied the bag containing the condiments on the table. "Ah, there it is," she smiled and turned to get plates.

Fritz, however, refused to be diverted. "Brenda, time's up. You need to see a doctor and I've made an appointment for you to see Dr. Jackson tomorrow morning."

"I can't. I've got a mur…"

"I don't care. We're not waiting any longer." He took her hand and said, "You need medical care and we're both taking the morning off so you can get it."

"But…"

"No buts. You're going to see Dr. Jackson tomorrow morning." Although he didn't raise his voice, steel was wrapped around each syllable.

"Okay." She waited as he spooned some rice on her plate. Then she opened the rest of the cartons and asked, "Do you want some Happy Family?"

_The End_


End file.
